Santos "Sandy" Alomar Velazquez, Jr. (born June 18, 1966 in Salinas, Puerto Rico) is a retired catcher in Major League Baseball.
Alomar was a highly regarded catcher in the San Diego organization after being named Minor League Player of the Year of the year in 1989, but he was stuck behind Benito Santiago at the major league level. After two short call-ups with the Padres, he finally got his chance at an everyday job after being traded to Cleveland before the 1990 season along with Carlos Baerga, in exchange for Joe Carter. Once in Cleveland, he established himself immediately, becoming the first rookie catcher to start an All-Star game and winning both Rookie of the Year honors and a Gold Glove Award. Despite All-Star appearances in each of the next two years, Alomar began to lose more and more time to injuries and failed to realize his potential for several seasons. He came back strong in the first half of 1996 to make his fourth All-Star team, but then faded in the second half.
In 1997, everything finally came together for Alomar. He batted .324, was the MVP of the All-Star game, put together a 30-game hitting streak (one short of Nap Lajoie's Indians record and four short of his former teammate Benito Santiago's record for catchers), and helped lead Cleveland to their third straight postseason appearance. In the Division Series against the New York Yankees, Alomar hit .316 with two home runs, including a game-tying shot off Mariano Rivera in the eighth inning of Game 4. Though he was less effective against the Baltimore Orioles in the ALCS, he still provided a game-winning hit in the ninth inning of Game 4. The Indians lost the World Series to the Florida Marlins, but not on account of Alomar who hit .367 with two home runs.
Although Alomar was selected to his sixth All-Star team in 1998, he turned in a mediocre season overall and then had injury problems again in 1999. He was granted free agency by the Indians after the 2000 season and has played in a limited role with the White Sox, Rockies, and Rangers since then.
On July 5th, 2007 the New York Mets called up Alomar to fill-in at backup catcher.
On July 27th the Mets designated Alomar Jr. for assigment. On August 18th the Mets called up Alomar due to injuries to starting catcher Paul LoDuca and backup Ramon Castro.
Trivia[]
- Alomar's home run in the 1997 All-Star Game, which was played in Jacobs Field and for which he was named Most Valuable Player, made him the first player since Hank Aaron in 1972 to hit a home run in an All-Star Game played in his home team's stadium.
- He was currently on the team for which his father is a coach. His brother, Roberto, also played for the Mets. He is the last of the three members of his family to be associated with the Mets.
- He is the second Alomar to get a hit as a Mets player, Sandy Alomar, Sr. never got a hit as a Met.
See also[]
External link[]
- Baseball-Reference.com - Major league career statistics
| Preceded by: Gregg Olson |
American League Rookie of the Year 1990 |
Succeeded by: Chuck Knoblauch |
| Preceded by: Mike Piazza |
Major League Baseball All-Star Game Most Valuable Player 1997 |
Succeeded by: Roberto Alomar |